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User blog:SomeoneYouUsedToKnow/SYUTK's V5E5 - χeep μoving φorward - Impressions/Recap
Well, this time there was a delay. The reason is simple: I was busy all Saturday doing an essay about “Los Valores Indigenas”, and by the time I was finished it was already midnight, so I watched it on Sunday. And I stopped at exactly the 7:23 since it was so boring I fell asleep. So, I tried to finish the episode on Monday, but the stupid statistics professor forced us to make an essay about like 9 different kinds of probability distributions, for literally the next day IOW for Tuesday. 11 pages long counting cover and references, it took me from 6pm to 2am. And the result: The prof. didn’t even come, so it was all for nothing. I hate it when they do that. And then, I tried to finish the ep on Tuesday, even if it meant this would be posted on Wednesday. But my internet decided to be an asshole and not even connect, acting as if there were no routers or anything connected, meaning I spent most of the day without internet until I fixed the issue. But I managed to do it anyway, all I had to do today was upload the pics. ---- In other news, this thing. For newcomers to this thing, this is basically me, making an informal recap of what happened in the episode, while giving my thoughts about what happens. It also includes fancy color speak. 2 are particularly notable: Red means truth, fact , in the eyes of the user, le me. Blue means a guess, an hypothesis, a theory. Now, this specific time, there were multiple issues, as stated above. So can’t really say this was finished prior to Tuesday. Hopefully it won’t happen again, though knowing my statistics prof., pretty sure it will. I hate the way he does things, he doesn’t even have any presence, one doesn’t even feel he’s there. The only reason I even try to deal with it is because it’s his literally-very-1st-time teaching anything. In any case, off we go: And this episode begins with... Triumph (or is it Triumph! ?) Now the ep is like 17mins long. That's an improvement from yesterweek....still terrible compared to the lenghts of Ep1 and 2 but I've already complained about that, so I'll talk about something more interesting: Evolving Credits. RWBY has obviously had Opening videos that play practically every episode, with maybe 1 or 2 exceptions. But the Opening used in each season has always been the exact same throughout that season. It never changes. So I've been wondering if RWBY will ever have Evolving Credits. Basically, that the Opening changes, it's altered, throughout the season. How it's altered varies heavily. For example, sometimes more characters are added at certain points. Or if X character was doing Y thing at one scene, it's changed to X character doing something else. Or in more rare cases, the entire Opening video is changed, though the theme song itself may not be replaced. There are ways RWBY can do it. Like, in one scene Ozpin looks like some heroic Big Good, but then he's revealed to not be so goody-two-shoes and that scene is replaced for a different version that has duller, grey-er colors, making Ozpin look less heroic. I get that it would be more expensive, but at this point "we are poor" is not the case with RT and that excuse falls flat. That worked when they were a bunch of guys sitting on a couch. Not now that they can afford to make tons of new merchandise from shirts to cups and more, every month, along with multiple series simultaneously. Even if they're still nothing compared to EA or Nintendo or Microsoft, it does not justify acting like they're hobos who can barely survive. Speaking of Evolving Credits, will RWBY ever have proper credits? A proper ending sequence, with a proper song playing over it. Vol.1 only had silhouettes, and didn't use songs in every episode's ending. Vol.2 and 3 used fanart. And in Vol.4 and so far in Vol.5, they used Concept Art. And in at least V4, V5 and some eps of V1, V2 and V3, instead of "a song", they just used background music that at times is just plain forgettable. RWBY is based on anime. Using a proper ending like a proper anime wouldn't hurt, especially if it has a catchy song, is interesting or at least fun to watch for one reason or another, or simply both. Who knows, it might even become popular enough to get tons of fan-made parodies involving other works. 1) OH MY GOD, BIRDS IN RWBY V5 05 00001.png This might be the first time we've seen a bird in RWBY that's not a poorly-researched Crow (Crows don't have red eyes...) or a Grimm! It's a minor thing, but hey. We've seen like only 2 species so far (dog and crow), leaving aside humans, faunus and Grimm. Any new animal we see clearly, it's a good thing. Now, the real stuff BSDeparture1.png|''Are you ready, Sun?'' BSDeparture2.png|''Please. I've dealt with giant monsters and robots many times, remember?'' SmugBlake.jpg|''The Paladin threw you off before the fight even began, and you did nothing during the Breach'' BSDeparture4.png|''JUNIOR DETECTIVE, Blake. I can handle getting a few signatures'' Alright. So, Blake and Sun are carrying scrolls and heading off to "gather signatures". I have no idea of what they're trying to do. Measure up how many people on the Island support Blake's Ghira's idea of going to Mistral and fighting trained and armed terrorists with fishing rods and iron pots? Also, I just realized: Blake has long black hair, which is about the same color as her weapon. As a result, from some angles it's almost impossible to see Gambol Shroud, because her hair hides it pretty well at times. Which means that her hairstyle is actually pretty genius! Speaking of Gambol Shroud, it worries me much that Blake is carrying it, yet Sun is not carrying his nunchuks. Blake carrying her weapon is almost a spoiler that says "something will happen and we'll get a fight". But if Blake feels things are dangerous-enough that she should bring her weapon with her, why does Sun not grab his weapon too? Goddammit Sun, you were a moron for the entirety of Volume 4. Don't go back to your dark age again. BlakePreach1.png|''(Alright...you only live once...let's get this done with quickly so I can retain my dignity)'' BlakePreach2.png|''YOUR CHIEFTAIN NEEDS YOU! YOUR PEOPLE NEED YOU!'' BlakePreach3.png|''(Dammit, this is embarrasing...)'' BlakePreach4.png|''PLEASE JOIN THE FIGHT TO PROTECT HAVEN ACADEMY!'' V5 05 00002.png V5 05 00003.png|''Well, I tried...'' Okay, so Blake just goes to preach people as if trying to convert them to a religion. That's about as good an idea as Ilia's constant screaming was in V5E3, but I can't expect much from Blake in this regard. She did spend quite the number of years as an active member of a cult. That aside, I have to say, this is one of Arryn's...weakest performances in V5. It doesn't feel like she's putting emotion into it, but rather that she's just reading her lines. And, well, she is doing that, but there's no heart behind the words. She's reading out loud, not acting. I've seen people put far more emotion into selling Doritos on the street. I can't tell if it was on purpose or not, but it does feel weak. Pretty sure the crowd's reaction would've been the same in RL. Sun, meanwhile..... SunConverting1.png|''Dude, are you serious?!'' SunConverting2.png|''We would love to have a badass like you on our side!'' SunConverting3.png|''Really? I'm just a background character...'' SunConverting4.png|''YOU ARE GOING NOWHERE, YOUNG BOY!'' V5 05 00004.png|''YOU ARE WAY TOO OLD TO BE PLAYING COPS AND ROBBERS!'' SunConverting6.png|''Hey, what's wrong with playing Cops and Robbers? It's good training'' He apparently just went out and spoke to people personally, and found more success than Blake, old mom aside. This makes sense when you consider that convincing a person is easier and harder than convincing a crowd, because alone, you think for yourself by yourself, but when you're a crowd, you think as part of the crowd, and the crowd itself influences what you do and say. It's basic Mob Psychology. If a comedian makes a joke and no one laughs, you may have found it funny, but avoid laughing because the crowd didn't laugh. Laughing out loud would only lead to weird looks, shame and embarassment, and lowered opinions of you. The Vice-Versa is also perfectly possible. Put in another way: Mob Pyschology works like this: "No one speaks up because no one does/Everyone speaks because everyone does". Aside from that, it's also easier to convince someone when it's an exchange of ideas, a debate, and not simply listening to one side. But anyway, as we can see, they both failed badly. Which is perfectly logical when they do nothing but tell villagers who have likely never grabbed a real weapon before, to go abandon their home and go fight terrorists that have already helped take down a freaking Huntsman Academy, and have far better equipment and training. They lose in Quantity and in Quality. What are they even doing, really? I hope their arc for the entire season isn't about convincing the people, because so far it'd take a Deus Ex Machina to convince the people to go commit Mass Suicide By Terrorist. GatheringSignatures1.png|''Would you kindly sign up to protect Haven from terrorists? You'll get a cookie!'' GatheringSignatures2.png|''...Should've gone with the chocolate bar...'' V5 05 00005.png|''Hey, people! Sign up to defend Haven from the White Fang! You'll get a chocolate bar!'' GatheringSignatures4.png|''Who is this guy, and why should I sign up?'' GatheringSignatures5.png|''I dunno, and I dunno'' GatheringSignatures6.png|''Damn it, should've gone with the cookie'' PeopleHateSun1.png|''Woawowaowa, what's goin-'' PeopleHateSun2.png|''GET DOWN FROM MY TREE!'' GatheringSignatures7.png|''What do you think of fighting to protect an Academy from terrorists?'' V5 05 00006.png|''Not this again...they've been doing it all week!'' GatheringSignatures9.png|''And another signature, gone with the wind...'' GatheringSignatures10.png|''Oh look, more signatures!'' GatheringSignatures11.png|''Oh crap, she saw us'' GatheringSignatures12.png|''SWIM! SWIM FOR YOUR LIFE!'' GatheringSignatures13.png|''And yet another signature, gone with the sea...'' And they fail even more. Though if you ask me, Sun had more success than Blake. Blake tried preaching, and talking personally with people. Everyone ran and swam away. Sun simply talked to people (or at one point, "EH?!"d at people), and they didn't run away (and if it wasn't for the dude's mom, would've gotten at least 1 signature). Also, did anyone notice that these 2 were swimming while wearing skirts (dresses...whatever)? On one hand, I now see the utility of wearing nothing but swimsuits: If someone wants to swim they can just do it right away. On the other hand, I do not see the utility of keeping your skirt/dress/whatever on while at it. BSFailedSupport1.png|''So, any luck, Junior Detective?'' BSFailedSupport2.png|''...I'll take that as a no'' I'm gonna take a moment here to point out...those fruits beside Sun look uncannily real. They don't look like they were made in the same style as everything else, they don't even look like the food we saw in V2E1. They look more like real food photoshopped into the scene. Have you seen those pics of Mario in his cartoony style, in "Unreal 4 engine, Super-realistic" games like Crysis, while still keeping his cartoony style? Well, this is like that, but in reverse. Obvious Conclusion V5e5 coconut milk.png|''These people are idiots!'' SunDoesntGetIt2.png|''How can they hear about the WF trying to destroy Haven Academy, and just lay back and eat popcorn?!'' BlakeGetsIt1.png|''Because not everyone is a badass like us, Sun'' V5 05 00007.png|''These people came here because they didn't want more fighting. And now we're asking them to go fight'' ...So, these people wanted no more fighting. So they went to a place that is 2/3 sand, and according to Blake has very dangerous wildlife (which, if it's really anything like Australia in that regard, it's putting it short). And that's before we add stuff like Grimm on the island or approaching shore or coming from the sky. (Though Menagerie doesn't look like it has too much negativity). I mean....it might be safer than in the actual continents, since the sea would keep most Grimm away, and they're just Faunus so discrimination is not an issue, but....I don't know, it just doesn't feel like the best idea to avoid fighting is to go to a place whose very fauna and flora is dangerous enough to eclipse other areas. Australia's got kangaroos whose kicks can rival a horse's in strength and speed. Platypuses whose feet have poison barbs that inflict pain comparable to being shot. They got their own version of Ostriches, the Emus, that are badass enough to defeat the Australian Military. And of course, in Australia, trees explode. It feels like jumping from the Oven into the Freezer. Also, they got stalls on the waterfloor. Fancy way to maximize space. Good to see that as stupid as it is for everyone to wear swimsuits, there's a practical usage of it. SunGotIt.png|''Huh...never really thought about it like that before...'' BlakeGetsIt3.png|''They're still idiots though'' BlakeGetsIt4.png|''Whether they like it or not, if Adam destroys Haven, things will be worse for faunus everywhere'' It's not like those people can really do anything though. Best case scenario, they go to Haven, get slaughtered by Adam, he loses popularity for killing Faunus. The WF keeps being seen as crazy fanatics, and nothing changes. Now, as I was watching the ep, at 3:53, some sort of weird video glitch showed up and the video and audio completely desynch-ed from each other. The audio went inmediately to Sun saying "...work with?", then Blake saying "Sigh...yes" and Sun responding "Sorry I brought it up". Naturally, I was completely lost at where the hell did the conversation go. I reloaded the videoplayer multiple times, but the glitch kept happening at the exact same time with the exact same results. I eventually "solved" it by pausing the video right after the glitch, re-clicking the 720p option, and the video quick-reloaded (since it was already at 720p). It happened like 9 times consecutively. I don't watch RWBY eps in RT's website due to the fucking stupid "Not a FIRST? Enjoy waiting and avoiding spoilers for 72 hours :D" idea, so I don't know if the glitch was also present on the original version of the ep. Anyway: TalkingBoutExes1.png|''That Adam...your ex-boyfriend?'' TalkingBoutExes2.png|''..........Yes'' TalkingBoutExes3.png|''Sorry I brought it up! Let's change the subject...'' TalkingBoutExes4.png|''No, no. It's okay'' WordPerson1.png|''Have you ever met someone who made you think "This is the personification of X word"?'' WordPerson2.png|''Yeah. Neptune's like the personification of "Afraid of Water'' WordPerson3.png|''That's 3 words'' WordPerson4.png|''Well, when I met Ruby, I thought "This girl is Childishness'' WordPerson5.png|''Weiss was "Prejudice"'' WordPerson6.png|''And Yang was "Boobs"'' WordPerson7.png|''Cool! And what am I?'' WordPerson8.png|''"Abs"'' V5 05 00010.png|''Damn straight'' Holy shit! I just noticed! Blake's umbrella on her coconut is green with yellow monkey tails. Sun's umbrella on his coconut is purple....with STARS AND GALAXIES! Do you know what this means?! Sun is cheating on Blake with Nebula Violette from Team NDGO! Vol2 Sun ProfilePic Normal.png|A match made Vol3 Nebula ProfilePic.png|Beyond Heaven This is STUNNING. Last week, we had Freezerburn making a sneak attack on Eclipse and Bumblebee. Now, we have Space Monkey sneaking under Eclipse and Sea Monkeys like a submarine, waiting to strike. The Ship War is growing intense this Volume. DescribingAdam1.png|''...At first, I thought Adam was JUSTICE. Then I thought he was PASSION'' DescribingAdam2.png|''But despite the rose, he was not PASSION. He was Spite'' DescribingAdam3.png|''Not hatred, not rage. Just petty Spite. Though he does rage a lot'' DescribingAdam4.png|''He doesn't care about equality, he just wants to make the world suffer for what it did to him'' DescribingAdam5.png|''And that view spreads like a virus. That's why I'm worried about Ilia'' DescribingIlia1.png|''This Ilia...she's that human faunus girl, right?'' DescribingIlia2.png|''She's a Chameleon, Sun'' DescribingIlia3.png|''Explains her abhorrence'' DescribingIlia4.png|''She was a good friend. With her trait, she could pass for a human, and yet she chose to fight for the faunus'' DescribingIlia6.png|''Did you know she-Wait, you were in my Character Short, you know that'' DescribingIlia7.png|''Anyway, like me, she was taught how to fight and survive on the road, and she was fine'' DescribingIlia8.png|''But then Adam became more popular, and she became more dangerous...and so did I'' Wait...what is that between the tails? Is that....a double crescent? No, wait.......dammit, forgot the name but I've seen that shit before. Conch? Clam? Is Blake cheating on Sun with a Snail Faunus? Those umbrellas told us Blake ships Black Sun, and Sun ships Space Monkey. It could be important. TerribleExFriends1.png|''My parents wanted me to stay with them, but I chose to stay in the WF. I had Adam and Ilia, after all...'' TerribleExFriends2.png|''You chose a crazy racist murderer and a rabid racist girl who screams everything she says, over your family?'' TerribleExFriends3.png|''I-I'm not good at decision-making under pressure'' TerribleExFriends4.png|''Well, we're gonna have to face that Ilia eventually. And I'm ready to kick her face. What about you?'' TerribleExFriends5.png|''I'm going to help her the same way you helped me'' TerribleExFriends6.png|''By yelling at her face and saying she's being stupid and irrational?'' V5 05 00012.png|''No. You showed me that sometimes, you just have to be there for a friend, even if they push you away'' NotGivingUpOnIlia2.png|''This time, I'm going to be there for my friends. I wont' abandon her'' 2)The most important scene in all of Ruby's life YellingOscar1.png|''AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHH!!!!!!'' YellingOscar2.png|''(Oscar, you don't have to yell. People are sleeping)'' And now we're back to Oscar and....wait. How many times has this happened? We get the first 1/3 of the episode focused on someone else, then it cuts to Oscar and friends, then it cuts back to someone else for the final 1/3. It was like that in Ep3 (Blake > Oscar > Weiss) and Ep4 (Yang > Oscar > Yang). And now it's Blake > Oscar > ?. Actually, after the 1st ep of this Volume, all episodes have had the same "3 part" structure where each part is focused on a different character, sometimes with the 3rd part being focused on the same character as the 1st part. Mmm....this doesn't feel good. It's not a bad structure given the time available, but it feels...repetitive. You can pretty much tell when a scene is going to end and jump to someone else. I hope the rest of this ep, or the following eps, shake this formula a bit. GettingBetterOscar1.png|''You're getting better'' V5 05 00013.png|''Are you hungry? I'd make cookies, but Oz didn't seem to like the idea'' GettingBetterOscar3.png|''Yeah, I was about to finish. Can you make chili dogs?'' GettingBetterOscar4.png|''Eh...nope, sorry'' .....Wait a minute, where did all those weapons come from? There were a pair of axes on the wall (reminding me of Vale's simbol) and another pair of swords on the other side of the room, but these were decorative. Those other swords and axes, meanwhile, are not. Aren't they in a hotel? How did they get all those swords in? Even if they said "we're Huntsmen, we'll just use them for training", I think the staff would think twice before letting them bring weapons in. Actually, I think the staff would think twice before letting them train, considering the kinds of things they can do. ORConversation1.png|''So, you've never fought before?'' ORConversation2.png|''Only the ocasional Creep. Nothing like this'' ORConversation3.png|''Well...you move like a natural'' ...Funny. Just by starting with that pic, Ruby automatically ends up sounding like an asshole even without changing the script. V5 05 00014.png|''I've only had this cane for a few weeks...yet I feel like I've had it for more than a lifetime'' ORConversation5.png|''I still suck though'' ORConversation6.png|''Well, yeah, you do'' V5 05 00015.png|''But don't worry, at this pace you'll be COMBAT READY in no time!'' ORConversation8.png|''...Oh barnacles, what did I just say'' ...........Really, Ruby? What an asshole. Seriously though, her reaction after saying that, it's golden. Well, for anyone else it'd be normal. But this is Ruby, the girl that became more Plot Device than Character in V2 and has been like that so far. Normally, she doesn't act like the stuff that's happened affects her, beyond the reaction at the moment. >She saw Penny die, and picked up one of her swords and threatened a Nevermore. That's cool. Then she spends V4 acting like her old self 99% of the time, and never even mentioning Penny. >She saw Pyrrha die in her face, and cried with enough force to blast a Maiden with sheer power of Deus Ex Machina. Then she spends V4 acting like nothing ever happened, beyond a few nightmares that had so little plot relevance or any sort of effect on her character beyond a freaking sigh that they felt shoe-horned in. It's like with MCs in many RPGs, especially old ones. Beyond the dialogue they rarely say and the ocasional special effect used to show a reaction, they seemingly don't give a damn about anything that happens. Now, that works with videogames to improve role-playing, but not with a show. ....But now? She says "combat ready" and is all happy, then she's surprised, and gets sad. This is great. This is noticeable evidence that she IS indeed affected by the events that have happened, even if it took her a whole Volume to show it. It's not as great as with other characters, like Yang or Cinder, but the fact that it's even happening for Ruby makes it great anyway. More importantly though, there's something very troubling about this conversation: The time. In V5E1, Oscar met Qrow and RNJR, and got his cane. In V5E2, after Qrow had sobered up, they all talked to each other and Ozpin said, there was 1 month until the Fall semester began. And now, Oscar is saying that it's been a few weeks since he got his cane IOW since V5E1. This means that there's 2 or even 1 week remaining, maybe even less, before the Fall semester. And we're barely at the half-way point of the Volume. So either the rest of the remaining time passes at the speed of a dead snail, or the "Battle of Mistral" will NOT be the Finale of the season. ORConversation9.png|''(Look, Oscar! She's sad. Now's your chance to be a dashing gentleman and take her heart)'' V5 05 00016.png|''Well...I'll see you ups-'' ORConversation11.png|''HOW DO YOU HANDLE ALL THIS?!'' ORConversation12.png|''...Excuse me?'' ORConversation13.png|''(Oscar, even with my ages of expertise, you fail at talking to women. Fix your mess, quickly)'' ORConversation14.png|''I-I mean...I'm scared. More than I've ever been before'' ORConversation15.png|''To be honest, I always wanted to be more than just a farmer...but I never expected any of this'' ORConversation16.png|''(Great save, Oscar)'' V5 05 00017.png|''(Shut it, Oz. I'm being serious)'' And so, Oscar becomes more and more and more of a foil to Jaune. Which reminds me, we need a Jaune-Oscar scene. Not just because it's on my RWBY V5 Bingo card, but because it'd be interesting. Jaune already blamed Qrow for Pyrrha being "technically not" forced to become a Maiden > Developing a emotional shitstorm > Going off to commit suicide by Maiden. He definitely should do the same with Ozpin, and be conflicted since Oscar is 100% innocent here. So far, they haven't been alone, and I doubt Jaune wants to be an ass to Ozcar in public, especially since Oscar is blameless here. And with at least their first encounter, everyone was more focused on "how is this happening. Is this really Ozpin?" than anything else. But that's why we need a Jaune-Oscar scene. Just the 2 of them. V5 05 00019.png|''We all went to Beacon to help people, or at least I did'' ORConversation19.png|''But yeah, this sucks. We never asked for this either'' ORConversation20.png|''But that's why we must-'' QuestionedRose1.png|''How can you be so confident? People have tried to kill you. You saw friends die!'' QuestionedRose2.png|''How can you act like it's all fluff and roses when the fate of mankind lies on thin ice?!'' Oh my god! Ruby's idealistic and unchanging optimism is being questioned?! Who wrote this scene?! This is beautiful. I remember almost falling asleep when this scene happened. Yet now it's amazing how progressive it is after Ruby says "COMBAT RADY :D". QuestionedRose3.png|''When Beacon fell, I saw 2 of the kindest people I've ever met - Penny Pollendinna and Pyrrha Nikos - die'' V5 05 00021.png|''Their kindness didn't save them. Pyrrha tried to take the 0.1% chance of saving the rest, and she died fighting a hopeless fight'' QuestionedRose5.png|''And Penny was killed just to make a statement about this show getting darker'' QuestionedRose6.png|''(Good job Oscar. You made the Purity Sue remember her friends's deaths. Apologize)'' QuestionedRose7.png|''I'm...sorry for bringing it up'' QuestionedRose8.png|''I am scared too, Oscar. For me, for you, for all of us'' V5 05 00022.png|''Salem proved that she'll kill anyone that stands against her. And that's what scares me the most'' QuestionedRose10.png|''It hurts that I didn't think of Penny or Pyrrha every day, or wished to be with them longer, before...'' QuestionedRose11.png|''...But I know that if it had been me, they would've kept fighting. And that's what I choose to do'' KMFRuby.png|''Keep Moving Forward'' And there. She said it. She said Monty's not-particularly-unique yet-still-great Quote: Keep Moving Forward. It's not the most unique quote - just like how this show is not unique either - but it is a great message nonetheless. No matter the hardships or pains, struggles or troubles, all one can do is to keep moving forward. Like keeps going, and so should you, enduring anything that keeps you down. If you never stop, you'll pass it eventually. ....Of course, the message has it's limits. Don't try to tell a depressed or tortured person that, for their own good, and maybe yours. Telling someone to Keep Moving Forward can easily be twisted into telling someone to "deal with it", especially in the ears of a depressed person. But that aside, one thing I like about this scene is the moment and timing. A quote's strength is determined by the context when it's used. In Grimm Eclipse, Ren said it with dull, horrendous voice-acting practically every fight, making it cheap and boring. But here, with Ruby saying it to finish stating her views regarding what's happened, the quote is beautiful and impactful. ORConvFinish1.png|''Well, we better go eat something ASAP, before Nora leaves nothing left'' ORConvFinish2.png|''Oh, and Oscar...we know this ain't gonna be easy. But you're trying, and that says a lot about you'' ORConvFinish3.png|''You suck less than you think'' V5 05 00024.png|''(Well, that somehow circled back and fulfilled my designs. Good j-)'' ORConvFinish5.png|''(Oz, no. Just...just stop it, okay?)'' RoseGardeners will still have a field day with this though. Sadly. That aside, I liked how Ruby's character was questioned, that's pretty much the golden moment of this entire scene. And I liked the use of Monty's "Keep Moving Forward". And with that this scene's over........nope. Not as much of a fan of what happens later. But I'll explain why later. It's a small thing anyway. RubyIsAmazing1.png|''She must've been one of your best students last year'' RubyIsAmazing2.png|''(Eh...yes and no. She's not perfect, she has her quirks and faults like everyone)'' RubyIsAmazing3.png|''(But she also has an unquantifiable power; a spark that can shine even in the darkest night)'' RubyIsAmazing4.png|''...Her Silver Eyes?'' RubyIsAmazing5.png|''(Of course not, Oscar. Her optimism)'' 3) Adam Did Nothing Wrong, Part 3: Our Lord's Word Is Absolute V5 05 00025.png AlbainThoughts1.png|''Your thoughts, brother?'' V5 05 00026.png|''Please, brother. Our thoughts are insignificant'' V5 05 00027.png|''Adam did nothing wrong. Our High Leader's orders are absolute'' Mmm....who is that portrait of? With all the candles, and their resemblance to the Albains, I'm inclined to believe the person in the portrait is one of their parents, or at least some relative of importance, who passed away. ...Mmm...maybe they're the sons of a Cult Leader? Explain why they're so Cult-like in the present. AlbainThoughts2.png|''Adam did nothing wrong. Our High Leader's orders are absolute'' InterruptioningIlia1.png|''KNOCK'' InterruptioningIlia2.png|''Agh, who is it at this time of day?'' InterruptioningIlia3.png|''Oh, Sister Ilia. We've been expecting you'' V5 05 00028.png|''What do you need me for?'' KneelingIlia2.png|''Please stand up. We are not Sienna'' GotAMessageSomehow.png|''We just received a message from the Mistralian Brotherhood. Operation: Success'' WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE. They said they got a message from the Mistralian Brotherhood. In Mistral. A different nation in a different continent kilometers or even miles away even by airship. The CCT in Vale is down. That means global communication is down. People can only communicate on a national level, sending messages to other kingdoms is impossible. THE VERY WOR ON THE CCT EXPLAINED THIS. So, HOW THE FUCK DID THESE GUYS GET A MESSAGE FROM PEOPLE IN MISTRAL? Menagerie doesn't even have a CCT, and I doubt Ilia traveled to a whole different island/continent just to meet up with them. The only possible way they could have gotten a message, is: 1) If the messager was in Menagerie too. And if that was the case, why not just tell them in person? 2) if they used a Seer, which they did not. 3) if they did not destroy Vale's CCT but took it over, which is not the case since it's said later that it's inoperable, not controlled. God-FUCKING-Dammit Miles and Kerry. After making such a beautiful scene developing Ruby for the first time in forever, you proceed to give your own established - PLOT-IMPORTANT - lore the middle finger. If people can send messages to people in other nations, even one without a CCT to begin with, what was the damn point in having Ozpin in the WoR say "They either speak together, or none at all"? With Patch it's understandable, it's just a few hours away from Vale's coast. Yang watching Vale news in Patch in V4 made sense (well, it did NOT because Vale's CCT was down and Beacon was still taken, and that's where the CCT is. But still). But Menagerie is not even close to Mistral itself. It's for shit like this that people like FatManFalling give you no respect except once in a blue moon. BuriedWithHonor1.png|''Adam Taurus is now officially the King of all Faunus and our Glorious Leader'' BuriedWithHonor2.png|''Great! And Sienna?'' BuriedWithHonor3.png|''A human killed, raped, and spit on her. Buried with honor'' BuriedWithHonor4.png|''Just kidding, Adam killed her. But that's what we told the other branches'' BuriedWithHonor5.png|''A necesary sacrifice, for the plot of this sick, inconsistent show'' BuriedWithHonor6.png|''Indeed'' BuriedWithHonor7.png|''While we cannot say the same about your debating skills, your maturity in this matter is why we called you here'' WFIsEvolving1.png|''The White Fang is going through a...metamorphosis'' WFIsEvolving2.png|''Growth requires change...'' WFIsEvolving3.png|''And change can be painful'' WFIsEvolving4.png|''Yet the worm must endure being a helpless cocoon to learn how to fly'' V5 05 00029.png|''With the CCT still inoperable, we have total control over Information'' WFIsEvolving6.png|''Yet the people of Menagerie won't agree that Adam did nothing wrong, after what the Chieftain said'' V5 05 00030.png|''...It's my fault. If only I did more than just yell and call them faggets'' WFIsEvolving8.png|''It is indeed your fault, but we must keep moving forward'' KillTheBellas1.png|''So, what do you need me to do?'' KillTheBellas2.png|''Kill the Belladonnas'' V5 05 00032.png|''WHAT?!'' KillTheBellas3.png|''Of course, your brothers and sisters shall support you in this endeavor'' KillTheBellas4.png|''You were very close with young Blake. You are our best option'' KillTheBellas5.png|''Don't worry, Our High Leader wants her alive. But she can't be present to save her family'' KillTheBellas6.png|''Then, these people will see what happens when you talk excrement about Our Lord and Savior Adam Taurus!'' V5 05 00034.png|''A necesary sacrifice for the plot of this sick, inconsistent show...right, Cecilia?'' Ooooh, what do we have here? The revelation that Ilia's name is not Ilia, but Cecilia. And Ilia is just a nickname. How interesting...........then why the hell was she credited as ILIA Armitola, instead of CECILIA Armitola? If her name really was Cecilia, why keep this information from us? Why not credit her as Cecilia from the start? It's for things like this that some people insist Rooster Teeth can and is willing to lie about things in their shows. And this time it's proof, it's a fact. They told us her name was Ilia. It was in the credits, even. And now they're telling us her name is Cecilia. That, is lying. At best, Half-Truth, which is a type of lie anyway. V5 05 00035.png KillTheBellas7.png|''The citizens are a problem, however. Killing a man of such admirable manliness could cause severe backlash'' KillTheBellas8.png|''Let's ask Our Glorious Leader about our next step'' CallingDaHighLeadah1.png CallingDaHighLeadah2.png|''I WILL NOT ALLOW THOSE PUSSYCATS TO RUIN THIS!!'' V5 05 00036.png|''I AM KING OF ALL FAUNUS, THE KING DOES AS HE PLEASES!'' CallingDaHighLeadah3.png|''But thanks for finding my stray cat. I missed her fluffyness...'' CallingDaHighLeadah4.png|''Please bring her to me. Oh, and kill her family first'' LeadahCallOver1.png LeadahCallOver2.png|''...Brother, I'm having doubts'' LeadahCallOver3.png|''Repeat the mantra 30 times. It always works'' V5 05 00037.png|''It is not easy for Our High Leader, to be the resident Edgelord'' ANewEdge.png|''But it is not a path he should walk alone'' V5 05 00039.png|''Welcome, Brother Yuma'' V5 05 00040.png|''Blood is Red, Life is Nil. Yuma Aow D'Hedge, Ready to Kill'' And we finish this episode with a Big Bang: A Faunus whose trait is a pair of torso-sized wings on his back. And note how Yuma there is wearing a shirt below them, as if the wings were intangible and passed through these form-fitting outfits. Now, excuse me while I dedicate the following link to everyone in this wiki who insisted that Faunus with Wings were impossible as if it was empirical fact. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqOn7wa4jRU There. The ep is now done. Conclusions Let's start with Black Sun. Blake, you fail at giving Speeches. Arryn, I felt she didn't put much love into that little speech...but I also don't know if that was on purpose. Honestly, the results of the episode in regards to Blake's Arc, is like this: Blake and Sun failed to convince anyone to go to Mistral to defend another nation for no discernible reward beyond "feels good". The WF wants to capture Blake and kill Kali and Mufasa. Blake and Sun don't seem to be making any real progress, and at best, all they've achieved is make the people convinced to side with no one instead of with them. It's not hard to add 1 and 1 and get an approximated 2 right now: 1) Blake is captured, taken to Mistral, that's how she reunites with RWYNJR. Then she ends up almost-catatonic as she's given 2 seasons's worth of plot twists and explanations. Remember what I said about all the questions Yang and Weiss had for each other? Multiply that exponentially. Poor Blake and even Poorer Sun, whose brain could barely comprehend Blake's arc by itself. Relics, Maidens, Salem, Oscar and Ozpin, Silver Eyes, and that's just the most relevant stuff. 2) Ghira and Kali either die for real, or their deaths are faked with help from Ilia. 3) 'If these 2 die, Ilia most likely wouldn't be the murderer, though definitely the assistant in it. If SHE does kill them though, it has potential. Blake could see it as Ilia crossing the line, and become unable to forgive her, or if she does, employ ''"Forgive But Don't Forget". I hope something is added to shake my expectations. ---- '''NOW, the important stuff: Space Monkey. Now, some people on the Wiki's Discord said that Sun's umbrella didn't have stars and galaxies, but flowers, just flowers. Now, I could see how the violet-with-yellow-center figures could be flowers, probably supposed to be like Belladonnas (even though the shape is completely wrong), but the other figure, is completely yellow, and it looks as a result more like a 5-point star with rounded edges than a simple flower. Of course, there are flowers whose center is the same color as the petals, and that purely-yellow figure could've been of one such flower (though I don't remember any Belladonna plants having such a flower). But it also looks like a roundy star to me, between being of the stereotypical color and the similar shape. And in any case, I still promove the idea that the Umbrella said "Space Monkey" for 3 reasons: 1) '''The main "opposer" to my points insisted that the umbrella had red in it. When it very, very, very clearly does not, it's purple with yellow stars/flowers, some of which are over a violet figure. Which hurts their credibility. '''2) Their main argument was that "it looks nothing like a star, you idiot". Nevermind how I was, quite obviously (and I repeated it more than thrice) talking about cartoon stars, specifically the "Pentagram Star" kind that are often drawn purely yellow. Not, you know, REAL stars like the Sun, with the pseudo-spherical shape that looks nothing like a pentagram. 3) Violets are flowers, including "yellow Violets" and "purple Violets" (no, that's not redundant; violet is similar but lighter, maybe bluer than purple) even before getting into all the cultivars. So even if one insists like fact that they were flowers, Space Monkey is still a thing. ---- I liked Ruby's scene with Oscar. It promoves Rose Garden, which is bad, very bad, but it's also the first time in a long time, maybe forever, that: 1) Ruby's ideals and character are questioned. 2) Ruby actually showed that X event (in this case, Penny and Pyrrha's deaths) left an impact and shaped her character in some manner. Even if by that, I mean that she's exactly the same character with the exact same personality and attitude, just a different reason for it (Instead of Purity and Innocence, now it's "Keep Moving Forward"). 3) Ruby actually expresses her thoughts about things, which, as noted by Chishio in her blog months ago, was present in Volume 1, and got gradually reduced until Ruby became a Plot Device with Legs. Now, is Ruby a greatly-developed character? Hell no. She pales compared to Blake, Weiss, Yang, even to Cinder and Jaune at times, people whose attitudes and characters have changed, at least temporarily, due to their experiences. But she's developed now, and it's better to have a 1 than have a 0. ---- Now, regarding the mini-scene afterwards between Ozpin and Oscar: My problem with it is that, the way it's worded, it feels like this: Oscar: Ruby is perfect! Ozpin: No, she isn't, she has her quirks and flaws, I swear. But they don't matter, because she's like a beacon of light in a dark cave. Oscar: She must be suffering the most of all of us. Ozpin: Of course she does. Isn't it perfectly absolutely obvious? Basically, it sounds like the writers trying to convince us that Ruby is not a Mary Sue, that Ruby has flaws, and then ask us to pity her by painting her as the biggest woobie without really showing it to us. The problem is, that regarding flaws, those only count if they matter. A character can be flawed, but when the flaws are not presented as such in the work, or never actually matter, then it's as good as when a character is not flawed at all. For example, Qrow is an alcoholic, an asshole, one could say ocasionally cynical, and sucks up to Ozpin without question. The former 3 aren't treated like actual flaws but more like stuff that makes him look cooler, while the last trait is treated more like a Virtue instead. As a result, it's like his flaws were not flaws at all. For a more positive example, of flaws that matter, there's the common-in-cartoons idea of a greedy character going straight for the treasure due to their greed, and activates the traps as a result, causing trouble for the whole group. Now, what traits does Ruby have? She's optimistic, energetic, friendly, idealistic, wanted to help people, socially awkward, prefers weapons over people, she's a weapon fanatic, she can make good plans on the spot, she treats everyone with a smile except the villains, she loves her uncle, can be inmature. Now: 1>'Her optimism, friendliness and idealism has never caused her to get into trouble, has never been exploited by the villains, and if anything are just Virtues, are Positives. '''2>'Her social awkwardness completely disappeared after she was thrown into a forest full of monsters by Ozpin. By the time Blake's arc rolls in Volume 1, Ruby shows 0 signs of social awkwardness, and if anything, Jaune, Neptune, and even Weiss comparatively, were more socially-awkward in Vol.2 and 3 than Ruby was. One could say she's like that because she's interacting with her circle of friends. But since we never actually see her ever talking to anyone outside her circle of friends aside from the teachers, her social awkwardness becomes pretty much Informed. '3>'Her weapon fanatism. It was a thing at the beginning of Volume 1, with her admiring all the weapons when she entered Beacon's grounds instead of the people (which, to be fair, were kinda devoid of character), cuddling Crescent Rose. However, ever since V1E2, she's never shown that same love for weapons. Not even in Volume 3, with the Tournament, with people from all places and with unique weapons, like a Trumpet gun, or a WindBoard-Revolvers. The last time we saw any of this was with a throwaway line when Jaune revealed he could use his Shieth to make a "Heavier-Sword" mode for his sword. '4>'The only time she's ever shown any planning skills, was in Volume 1 against the Nevermore. Ever after that, she either never plans anything - unless you count telling her teammates to work together via ship-names against the Paladin - or the plans are done by someone else entirely. The closest thing I can recall to any sort of planning skills or tactical skill that Ruby has shown after V1E8, were using the locker for transportation during the FoB, and using a modified version of her plan agains the Nevermore to go up the CCT. '5>'Both her fair treatment of every one of her friends, and her love for her uncle, are positive things that have never caused her, or anyone, harm, one way or another. The closest thing we have is Jaune accusing Qrow of using Ruby as bait. '6>'Her inmaturity is, for starters, justified due to being 15 (later 16), while everyone is entering the Young Adult category at least. Aside from that, it's only ever been played for laughs, never really taken seriously. Except 1 time, also in Volume 1, where Ruby was made an infantile dumbass during Port's class for the sake of the episode. And the result is: -Ozpin says that even though he's made tons of mistakes all his lives, making Ruby the leader was not one of them. -Weiss questions why Ruby was made Team Leader despite her inmaturity both physically and mentally, at least at the time, and Port's response is basically that Weiss is an entitled brat who has always been given whatever she wanted (which is an horrendously '''FALSE assumption on her life) and told to "DEAL WITH IT". So, the one time her inmaturity had consequences, they said it was a non-issue, and the one who treated it like an issue was treated like an entitled moron in the wrong despite having valid reasons to question Ozpin's decision. With points 1 and 5, they are positive traits never treated negatively or used negatively. With point 2 and 3, her flaws and even her most-iconic quirk disappear after Volume 1 is even 1/4 done. With Point 4, it is neither positive nor negative. And with Point 6, it's just played for laughs, and the one time it is not, I've already stated how it was treated. Overall, we cannot really say that Ruby is a flawed or even quirky character nowadays. She stopped being so after Volume 1. And then comes the part about Oscar and Ozpin saying she must be suffering quite a lot. Even with this episode's "reveals", that is FALSE. Ruby said she's hurt by PP's deaths, and she shows this, but she also basically explains that she "deals with it". She's seen 3 people die, 2 of hers her friends, and her sister was dismembered, became depressed, and was traumatized, while her friends scattered. Yet beyond the very, very ocasional grief moment, of which I can only remember 2 including this episode, she doesn't show much "suffering" over it, and instead she says she moves forward. "Suffers the most" is not just proportional to how much shit a character has endured. But how much it affects them. Ruby has seen quite the amount of shit, and only now does she show it for real. Weiss lost the route to her life-goal and was captured by bandits (comparatively smaller than what Ruby has suffered) yet threw herself in tears to Yang as soon as she could. Yang herself showed clear depression, PTSD, and an actual nightmare in V4, and even now her Fist Hand twitches in response to cups of water, due to Adam chopping off her arm. For comparison, Ruby only showed bad dreams with no images, and an outburst that was stolen by Jaune, and that's it, before this Episode, over the deaths of 2 friends right in her face. So overall: Ruby is said to be flawed, but she isn't. Ruby is said to suffer quite a lot, but she doesn't. So that part of the 2nd 1/3 of the episode feels more like the writers trying to convince us with words, instead of showing us any of what they speak of. ---- Regarding the Albains, I like how they have more depth than I thought. I thought they were nothing but religious "Adam Did Nothing Wrong" guys, but now it turns out that they force themselves to repeat that sentence 40 times per hour in order to endure their doubts. Regarding Ilia, there's potential there...but in the very-foreseeable future, all that potential is stuff people figured out as far back as the Character Shorts. It's just that obvious. I do like, however, that she didn't scream like a fanatic this time, and even more that her "moment" in V5E3 had at-least-informed consequences, even if small. Regarding Yuma......okay, look. This guy is edge. This guy has enough edge to give Adam a run for his money. He's got so much edge, even his hair and beard are edgy. He's got Bat wings too to make him look edgier. He even introduces himself with cheap melodramatic edgy poetry about how he sunk the messenger's ship and had him drown. ---- Now, the elephant in the room......fishes and wings. V5 05 00006.png With the former, I mean "The Mermaid Faunus". Or, a Faunus with a "fish tail instead of legs". Now, I tried arguing against the idea of a freaking Fishtail instead of legs as a Faunus trait in the Wiki's Discord... ...But the result was being blasted by people who reminded me why the RWBY Wiki is despised by pretty much every other side of the FNDM, what with ignoring every little thing I said (and Lucas literally telling people to ignore me), belittling me for trying to look at the picture from a different angle instead of mindlessly agreeing, and even being called insane/delusional at one point (Thanks Grey). That aside, this is why I fought against the idea: 1) The bodies of the women swimming in the water were shadowed under it. It's nothing but silhouettes, and it's impossible to get a clear picture of anything underwater. 2) The women were wearing dresses. The models themselves, included dresses that cover the legs. Which would carry over in a silhouette form underwater. Actually, they might've been utilized like that to hide the fact that they were dresses and not just swimsuits, probably to save time by not having to make another model for what is literally background characters that last like 10 seconds tops on-screen. Boom, Doylistic solution to why they swim with dresses on in Menagerie. Now, with the woman on the right, she has fins on her arms, like blades. We saw that same trait in V5E3, and the one who had it also had legs, so we know that one must have legs too because it's only 1 trait. The left one is the question. At first,I argued that due to the women wearing dresses that looked silhouetted underwater, there was no such "fishtail", it was a dress that ended up looking like that underwater, where due to the artistic choice one could not distinguish it's color or features, just the figure. Of course, the other side simply kept repeating "it's a fishtail", without actually providing a real argument beyond "it looks like a fishtail", which is in complete ignorance of my point. Then a Bright mind decided to simply post a pair of pictures that were far stronger evidence. No, I did not save those pictures on my PC, and I'm pretty sure they got buried by now on the Spoiler channel. -1st pic showed the woman's skin turning scaly-green from the waist below. -2nd pic showed what looked like the end of a "fishtail", VAGUELY (since it was also silhouetted to the fullest), underwater, though nothing like human feet. Afterwards, I analyzed it for a while and figured that, even then, it might not be a Fishtail specifically. I argued that even then, it could be like this: 1) The woman's Faunus trait is Frog-like legs (which includes the webbed feet) or Fish-like feet like with most Zora in the'' Legend of Zelda'' games. With frog-like legs, I meant the webbed feet the most. The webbing of frog's feet can vary heavily, based on how much time they spend underwater. African Dwarf Frogs have fully-webbed feet that even look like fans. 2) '''The woman is still wearing a dress. And her underwater body is still silhouetted. '''Result: The only part of the woman's legs not covered by the dress is the feet, let's assume frog-like feet. Underwater, both are silhouetted, and if you've ever lived life, you should know how shadows look when you put one with another: The 2 shadows turn into 1 figure, they combine, at least to the eye. So the result ends up looking like a single figure, consisting of a vaguely-cylindrical shape that goes from the waist to the feet, that seemingly ends in a vaguely fan-like tail fin-like shape. It's an optical illusion. Now, did any of the people involved even put some thought into that possibility? Nope. They just continued saying "it's a fishtail, you fucking moron". If anything, sharing the idea just made them start treating me worse. ---- Now, the winged guy, Yuma Yuma iei (Dragostea Din Tei) In his case, it's perfectly obvious he has wings. It is undeniable that Faunus can have big Wings on their back. There's even canon proof that you don't even need to play around with the clothes. Since, you know, putting on a T-shirt would be horrendously difficult for someone with a huge pair of wings on their back. Yet he managed to put in a pretty tight-looking uniform with no discernible aperture for the wings, and he doesn't even flinch (then again, EDGE). With people like Sun and the Albains, they could just make holes in their clothes and call it a day. Yuma doesn't even do that. So....all those times you lambasted someone for making a winged Faunus without giving an explanation for how they manage to get dressed despite the wings? Apologize. ....Of course, the fact that Yuma can have wings like that with no problem, also means that a Faunus could have a big damn fishtail too, with no problem. They could probably have whale-sized flippers too. And a gigantic elephant nose that goes all the way to their toes. ..............That said, in hindsight, if a Faunus had a fishtail as a trait, it doesn't need to replace their legs. One could, say, have a long fishy tail sprouting out of their ass, like Elma from Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid. FUNNY V5E5 PICS! :D ...Well, this time I didn't get many. There weren't as many pics as past blogs (171 this time). I did get some decent ones, at least: SleepyCat.png CondescendingRuby.jpg HighRuby.png PosingAdam.jpg Category:Blog posts